


of demons and slightly better demons

by ghoultown



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Buzzfeed Unsolved References, Demon, Demon Content, Demon Shane Madej, Fluff, Human Ryan, M/M, Pining, Protective Shane Madej, demon shane, not so slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 20:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15372834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghoultown/pseuds/ghoultown
Summary: after an episode of buzzfeed unsolved, ryan and brent summon a demon. ryan is assigned to a protector, who just happens to be a demon whose name happens to be shane.or, shane's heart starts beating after meeting a human.





	of demons and slightly better demons

**Author's Note:**

> this is a rewritten version of a fanfic i've posted in the past! i just saw a golden opportunity for some protective demon shane and couldn't resist. hope you enjoy!

When Shane walked into the room that currently housed the most sought-after human being in the entire ether, he imagined there would be a tall man with Popeye-esque muscles in scary, ripped clothes sitting on the metal bench with his hands braced against his knees and his teeth bared, sharp and glinting in the buzzing LED lights of the underground bunker that criminally wanted supernatural beings were held when they were in need of high-level protection. After he had ducked through countless electrified gates and cement-block obstacles, there was nothing else he should have expected.

What he did not anticipate, however, was to step into the room and lock eyes with a short man curled up in a steel chair in the corner, chewing on his thumbnail and seemingly drowning in a floral button up. Basically, a human frat boy in the throes of a suppressed panic attack in a maximum security holding cell surrounded by big men in suits with guns.

"I'm Shane," he began slowly, somewhat hoping that the guy would shake his head and point him in the direction of the big man he would actually be providing protection for.

"Ryan B-Bergara," the other man almost breathed, standing up and throwing a hand out for a shake. He was shaking, obviously uncomfortable with the concept of shaking a demon's hand, but had decided to accept it.

Shane nodded and gave him a sturdy handshake, looking him in the eye. Boy, did this human have beady eyes.

He gestured for Ryan to sit back down, which he did quickly and without hesitation. The human's fingers gravitated toward his temples, pressing down and sending apologetic glances through his eyelashes as he filled out all the paperwork he needed; contracts, liabilities, all the ethical loopholes closed and tied shut, and Ryan was glad to do so, signing his name anywhere and everywhere he was asked.

"So," Shane said, tucking the loose papers into a Confidential file and handing it back to the guards standing by, "Legally, I have to ask why you're here and why you're in need of protection."

"Okay," Ryan nodded, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. It was obvious he'd been asked why he was there several times and had compressed his story quite a bit, "I work at this entertainment company."

Shane leaned back and groaned, getting a glare from the human.

"... And I have a series where I go around to haunted locations and try to communicate with the dead."

Shane rolled his eyes, "Well, you succeeded. Continue."

"My friend Brent brought a Ouija board and we must not have closed the connection properly."

"Huh," Shane looked back at the guards. "Well, why are you in need of protection, then? People mess up all the time."

Ryan swallowed. "Well..."

He stood. Shane watched with a cocked eyebrow.

"When we left location, I felt a pain in my side and saw this." Ryan lifts the hem of his shirt up, exposing a dark, burned circle on his ribs, slashed in and out with darker bold lines.

Shane breathed out. "Ah, that makes sense."

"Are you gonna explain what it is or am I just gonna sit here and be helpless?" Ryan went to drop his shirt, but Shane stopped him with a hand. Ryan was physically unable to move.

"Just some prophecy garbage. Don't mind it. And what is this?" Shane stood alongside him, pressing a hand to the dark bruises alongside his ribs and hips. Ryan jumped as Shane's eyes flickered to black, assessing the damage, "Did they hurt you?"

"A little," Ryan said carefully, "Nothing too bad, though. I'm fine."

"You won't be harmed any more," Shane said, giving the suited men by the door a look of anger. Ryan nodded happily, sending a similar look to them. Shane rolled his eyes and guided Ryan toward the exit. There was no way Ryan knew who was after him.

____

Within 24 hours, it was abundantly clear that Ryan didn't understand the trouble he was in. He'd begin to head to the door without warning Shane where he was going, he'd call for a pizza in the middle of the night and not understand why Shane's eyes would darken when there was a knock at the door, he even tried to wander out into broad daylight to go to the store and buy alcohol. Shane's patience was deteriorating, but he was strong-willed. He was definitely being put to the test, though.

He considered the Popeye guy may have been a bit more agreeable.

"I'm just going to the store," Ryan all but whined, trying to push Shane back into the rickety hotel room that they would be shacked up in for a few days. "I'll just be down the street!"

"Bergara," Shane said, trying to keep himself stern in the face of such an amusing scene, "You have to understand, the things after you... they're most likely searching for you. If you go out there, you'll be seen on every CCTV camera and every security tape of every building on this street. If they see you, they'll know where you are. If they know where you are, we're history. I've got to be there to make sure you don't leave anything for them to find."

Ryan puffed his chest up and kept his keys clenched in his fist, "I'm going."

"You're not."

"Am too," he said, turning on his heel and reaching for the door handle.

Shane stood swiftly from the bed. He wasn't sure what had gotten into Ryan's mind, maybe he was just cranky or stubborn, but he felt it was necessary to do this anyway. Scare him a little, make sure he knew how serious it was. Before the human knew what was happening, Shane's hands were curled in the hoodie of his jacket and Ryan was pushed against the wall of the hotel. Ryan's face was locked in a wide-eyed terror-face, his hands up by his ears and his forearms pressed against Shane's chest. The demon just stared him down with all the seriousness he could muster for a long time, his eyes black, before opening his mouth to say, "You're not."

The human's eyes were like glass as he looked back into Shane's shark-like ones, "I-I..."

"I need you to listen to me, Bergara," Shane said softly but sternly, "I'm here to make sure you're safe until they scoop up the demons after you and have them contained, because then nothing will be pointed at you. Then I'll let you do things by yourself. We're attached to the hip for now, no matter how much you want to sleep alone, I am being paid to make sure you don't make one step unsupervised and hear me when I say that I promised I would do exactly that."

Ryan licked his lips and nodded carefully, saying nothing but letting his mouth hang slack.

"Please understand," Shane began to loosen his grip but didn't back off. He could feel Ryan's breath on his upper lip, "I care. I don't want you hurt."

Another nod and another peek of his tongue out of his lips, and Shane began to realize how close he was. He backed off and gave a good six feet of distance between them, his calves hitting the side of the mattress.

Ryan sighed in defeat and a slight bit of relief. He tucked his keys onto the nearest surface and slumped on the wall. Shane let him; that had probably been the closest contact he'd had in awhile, considering how he had frozen up. There was no place for him to apologize, as much as he wanted to. Ryan piped up after awhile, "You said... demons are after me?"

"Yep," Shane brushes his hair over the horns that had somehow escaped in the moment of anger.

"Aren't you a demon?"

"Kinda?" Shane shrugged. "But I'm one of the good ones."

"Do they know you?" Ryan asked carefully. The fear was still present in his eyes.

"More than they should," Shane said, his tone serious and his eyebrows set like stone on the bridge of his nose.

Ryan cowered and grabbed his keys for a final time, "Fine."

____

"Shane?"

The demon groaned, holding a pillow over his face. The human had interrupted his sleep for many hours. He was used to talking people down from the terrifying high of being chased by the things that go bump in the night, sure, but those people usually passed out after an hour or two of worrying. Ryan just kept it coming.

"What do you want, Bergara?" Shane asked petulantly, rolling over in the creaking bed to look at Ryan, who was still propped up in his bed with a book held limply in both hands. "I've told you, you're going to be fine as long as I'm here to make sure no one messes with you."

"I know, but still," he frowned at his hands and let out a long sigh, "I've never been in this position before, man. I'm just a normal guy, I didn't intend for any of this to happen."

Shane propped himself up on his elbows, shaking himself awake at the earnest tone of his words, "It was your job. You couldn't help it."

"I guess," Ryan mumbled under his breath, shifting on the bed and letting his book fall onto the blanket beside him. "Why do you need sleep anyway. You're a demon, right? You don't need it."

"I lost a few things when I went to the good side," Shane shrugged. "Now I have to eat and sleep and shower. The less amazing humane traits."

"That sucks, dude."

Shane stared at him.

"Ryan," he pushed himself up to sit against the headboard, mirroring the human's position, "How old are you?"

"Twenty five," Ryan said, almost distantly, his eyes wide and looking at Shane to search for a reason why he'd ask.

"You're happy being young." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah."

Shane smirked, "You go out a lot? Parties and other young shit?"

"Yeah?" Ryan squinted at him, "Do they know I go to parties?"

"No," Shane shook his head, "I'm just trying to put you together."

"Like a puzzle?" He smiled.

Shane nodded and rested his head against the cold wood of the headboard, letting his eyes flutter closed, "Yeah. Like a puzzle."

____

Ryan had been calm throughout the first weeks. Shane was surprised to confirm to himself that the human was overall fine, although shaken and sometimes anxious. No tears, no overwhelmed manor or status, he was doing good for a nerdy frat bro hiding from demons with a vendetta. They had moved around quite a bit, changing states without a pattern in order not to strike up any suspicion for those watching. It was unlikely they'd kill Ryan if they saw him on the street just because of the way he looked and acted, of course that may have just been wishful thinking on Shane's part.

The obligatory shattering of the metaphorical glass happened in the bathroom of the hotel restaurant at one in the morning.

Shane looked at his watch and pushed himself away from the table, standing. It had been ten minutes since Ryan had left to go to the bathroom. It was obvious he couldn't be in any real trouble, but it was still disconcerting. Hopefully he hadn't gotten his jacket stuck on the stall door or anything. Shane began to walk toward the bathrooms; this was something he'd want to see.

Any remnants of a smile that was forming as he pushed the door open crashed and burned as he tried to comprehend the sad scene before him. Ryan was almost a puddle, curled up in the furthest corner of the bathroom with his hands tucked into his shirt and tears streaming down his face. He was silent though, trying to keep it together for an invisible but judgmental company. Ryan only recognized Shane's presence when he crouched next to him and tilted his chin up with his fingers.

"Hey," Shane said quietly.

Ryan stuttered for a long time, but couldn't seem to get the words out.

"You don't have to speak, I won't ask you anything except for this one thing." He leaned down to look into Ryan's eyes with his dark ones, "You're having a panic attack. Will physical contact make it worse?"

Ryan made a sad muffled noise, but Shane recognized it as a definite yes. Shane nodded slowly and sunk down next to him, making sure to leave some air between them. He felt terrible that he'd expected Ryan to handle the situation as well as he could. It wasn't a judgment against his character—even big guys, bigger than Shane, would break down under the pressure. Ryan had done great, but all of the stress must have been tempered by Shane's presence. He was alone for a few minutes and he was alone with his thoughts. Shane frowned; he was supposed to be with the human at all times. He'd failed him this time.

Eventually, exhausted from crying and thinking to himself, Ryan wilted and rested his head on Shane's shoulder. The demon was confident in his poker face, but he swore he could feel lightning shooting through his bones at the touch. He grimaced— _Please don't let me do this, don't let feelings happen._

Ryan hiccuped and groaned, "I..."

"I'm sorry I left you alone," Shane said a bit more pitifully than he'd intended.

"If it makes you feel better... I-I'm sorry I let you leave me alone," Ryan offered in return.

Shane chuckled, his eyes returning to normal. "That does make me feel better."

____

"Shane, what do you want on the pizza?" Ryan covered the bottom part of his phone with his fingertips, looking expectantly at the demon sitting in his desk chair.

"I tell you every time," Shane replied, not looking away from his book. "I'm not picky."

"Whatever," Ryan replied before going back to his phone call (on the disposable cell Shane had given him) and ordering what sounded like the most fattening and disease-inducing pizza ever. Probably to make a point, Shane decided. He glanced up just in time to catch Ryan's grin before he disappeared into the back room where he would wait until Shane had successfully intercepted the pizza to check for any poison or trackers on the box. He had also wanted to check the toppings and everything, but Ryan argued that no one would be stupid enough to put expensive equipment on something people would chew up and swallow. So he didn't do that anymore.

The knock finally came, and Shane placed his hand on his gun in his coat pocket before peeking through the peephole, ultimately relieved when it was just a teen with a cap with a pizza logo on it. He did the usual tradition of awkward banter and fumbled money before shutting the door and checking all sides and creases of the box. Everything was in good shape.

"We're all clear," Shane said, sliding the box onto the table and grabbing a paper plate. Ryan walked back in and excitedly piled his plate high before scurrying back to his bed and crawling into a comfortable position. Shane followed, sitting with his legs crossed. Their thighs brushed and Shane made an exaggerated silent scream as soon as Ryan turned away to get the remote.

They ate in silence, breaking it only when they would snort at the funny interviews on the local news. Ryan kept bumping his shoulder into Shane's every time the reporters would make odd jokes about spies or mention conspiracy theories about the government (of which they did a lot), and every single time, Shane's dead heart would speed up and he'd curse himself for getting so soft.

Sometime after dinner, when the box was empty and their plates were stacked up on the nightstand, Ryan dozed off and Shane didn't bother to move from where he was. He glanced over at the sleeping human beside him and almost wanted to punch himself in the face— _why the hell do I wanna just run my fingers through his hair? Damn!_

His cell phone ringing broke him out of his weird deviation and he quickly answered.

"They slipped up. We've got them somewhere on the West Coast."

"Who?" Shane asked, dumbly, still a bit shaken up. "...THE Them?"

"That's the one."

Shane nodded. Everything seemed to slow down a bit and he frowned, hanging up the call and looking back down to Ryan. They were weeks away, maybe even days away from finishing and everything would be back to normal. And normal meant never seeing Ryan again and protecting someone else. But he didn't want to protect someone else. _God, I'm so lost._

"Shane?"

He blinked. Ryan was awake and waving his hands in front of his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, "You look really pale."

"I'm dead," Shane said through his teeth, the bitterness more present than he thought it would be, "Go back to sleep."

"Shane, no."

Ryan laid his hand on Shane's arm. Shane jerked away like he was burned and Ryan retrieved his hand, an expression of hesitant hurt on his face. Shane shook his head.

"Go back to sleep, please. We'll need to relocate in the morning."

He slid off the bed and went to his own. Ryan just watched him.

____

There was no way Ryan hadn't noticed his dramatic change in Shane's behavior, but he was being very cooperative. Of course he was, he was Ryan. But still. Shane could admit to himself that this was a seriously pointless case of hetero-freaking out (though, he was a generally gay demon, more of the freaking out was that Ryan was a human) and that it was counterproductive, however he couldn't admit it to anyone else. He somewhat regretted devoting all his time and energy into his job, because perhaps if he hadn't, he'd have a friend to talk to about what was going on in his head.

The human in his care was more than forgiving—in fact, Shane wasn't sure if Ryan had actually spoken in quite awhile. He fought with himself for a long time over how he should break his silence, because he knew he was being stubborn and he hated it. In the supremely rare case that Ryan mirrored or slightly agreed to his own feelings, he didn't want to hurt him.

"Bergara," Shane murmured, appearing from behind the separator wall that he'd been hiding behind for a good hour or two. Ryan looked up from his book, his glasses hanging on the tip of his nose. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, fine," Ryan replied quietly, nodding to himself in order to convince his own mind that that was the answer. "Thanks."

Shane frowned and crossed the room, sitting at the foot of Ryan's bed. He didn't look up. The demon sighed and scooted closer. No reaction. He placed his hand on Ryan's thigh.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked. It was obviously meant to sound exasperated but came out as a plea.

"I'm trying to get your attention," Shane replied slowly. "What's going through your mind, right now?"

"Well," Ryan closed his book, "I kinda want to know what the person on your phone said. Before you started acting grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy."

Ryan held a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh, "You're so grumpy."

Shane shook his head and a smile. He missed the natural flow of conversation with words rather than the general facial cues and hand gestures to indicate wants, needs, and emotions. As much as he loved to watch Ryan interact with the world around him— _Fuck! I'm so gay for him, what is happening to me_ —he also liked the sound of Ryan's voice and how it rose and fell and how his eyes seemed to smile at him when he ushered himself into protective mode and changed his eyes at the silliest moments. God, the domesticity of it all made his heart weak.

"Shane."

He blinked. Ryan was in front of him, close and looking worried.

"Yeah," he said distantly, rubbing his face with his hands. He didn't want to have this conversation because there were two ways it could end, and neither one was satisfying. "Anyway."

"Yes," Ryan nodded in agreement, "What did the person say on the phone?"

"They're close to finding them."

Ryan's face didn't change, but his body almost keened forward, "What?"

"Somewhere on the West Coast," Shane said quietly, his fingers picking at a loose thread of the blanket, "They fucked up. We know it's them."

"Oh," Ryan nodded. "And you heard that and got upset."

"I guess."

"Why?" Ryan asked quickly. He rushed the word out like it was too scalding hot to hold in his mouth, but was worried to say it regardless. "I mean... do you not wanna find them?"

Shane just sighed and looked up at him.

Ryan squinted, "Why wouldn't you want to find them?"

Shane didn't move.

"Shane?" Ryan waved his hand in front of his face a few times, "Shane, why didn't you want to find them?"

Shane didn't lose eye contact.

"Okay, let me try... okay," Ryan shifted on the bed a bit to look straight forward at the demon whose face was stony yet pleading, as if this new angle would allow him to read minds, "This is your job, right? You're getting paid to do this, protect me or whatever. You're getting something out of the demons' capture, so why don't you want 'em caught? What's the gain to fit the loss?"

Shane was a statue. He wore a pained look on his face but he just looked into Ryan's eyes and prayed he'd misinterpret things. But he was smart. He'd find out eventually.

"Nothing? Alright," Ryan leaned closer than he already was and Shane's heart sunk into his stomach, "So, you're hired to protect a human that talks too much, and as soon as you get your hands on the demons that got him here, you'll be paid and you'll move on. But why don't you want to find those demons?"

Shane felt defeated. He just kept staring.

Ryan stared back, tilting his head like a puppy who was confused, which was an accurate analysis. "Shane, are you scared you're not gonna be my friend anymore?"

Shane grimaced. He was close, but so far off, and he just wanted to scream the answer but it wouldn't bode well for his case if he was shrieking and a mess in front of the one human he wanted the most in the entire world.

"After this is done," Shane began slowly, his voice so quiet and mousy it almost sounded like a whole different demon, "I will completely disappear from your life. You can't mention me, you can't write about me in anything, you can't use any anecdotes about me in your daily life. I'm going to immediately be reinstated as someone else's protector, for lack of a better term, and basically have to forget about you."

"But you can't?" Ryan asked quietly.

"I don't want to," Shane said.

"Oh." Ryan nodded and pondered on that for awhile before looking up at Shane, "Oh, my God."

Shane turned his attention back to his lap and ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh, my God. Shane," Ryan sounded amazed, "Are you in love with me?"

Shane didn't like how he phrased that. He mostly expected a do you like me? But he hadn't anticipated the strong impact to the chest those six words would cause, nor did he expect how nice Ryan's voice would sound when he said it.

"Shane. Shane, oh my God." Ryan put a hand over his mouth, "You are."

Shane shook his head, feeling his throat close. He needed to leave, but he knew he couldn't, and that made him feel way too vulnerable. He'd gotten too invested in Ryan, and now he was paying the price.

Or not.

Careful, soft fingers wrapped around his wrist before he could stand to create distance between them. Finally, he looked up and saw that Ryan was crying, and not only was he crying, he was smiling. Tears were overflowing onto his cheeks and he was glowing.

Shane didn't say anything. He just sunk back down onto the bed to sit next to Ryan, wondering if it was okay to comfort him, but his thoughts were interrupted as Ryan scooted as close as possible without actually phasing through Shane's body and gave him the most lovely, encompassing hug that either of them had ever partaken in. Shane let his fingers brush against the back of Ryan's neck and Ryan, well, he had his hands gripping the back of Shane's shirt so hard they were both sure the shirt's fabric would be stretched beyond belief, but neither cared.

____

The demons that had made Ryan's life hell were captured three days later. Ryan's video was deleted, but there was a promise for a new one. Ryan was happy to film a new video about the supernatural now that he knew it was fact. Shane stood in the back of every frame, just so visible, with a smug smile on his face because Ryan was so cute when he was scared.

Shane resigned as soon as the trials and paperwork were all said and done. It was a fairly speedy matter, though, considering the fact that Shane had helped out millions of cases in his time. Ryan was offered a separate protector to be safe. but he declined and linked his arm with Shane's and sauntered to his car.

Ryan's things were promptly moved from his seedy apartment to Shane's odd mansion-like house, as they both agreed Shane's house was much safer now that scary demon people knew his apartment's address. From there, he learned about Shane's life (and his death.) As soon as Shane's entire life was mapped out in Ryan's mind, he walked up to Shane and gave him another hug, praising him for his bravery and telling him how great of a demon he was. Shane just smiled and hugged him back, muttering a hesitant but fully meant "I love you."


End file.
